12/14 | I came down from Westchester County to stand with the transit workers before a possible strike

By Jason Gooljar

There are two things that made me hop on a metro north railroad train to Grand Central. One was to help leaflet for NY Senatorial candidate Jonathan Tasini and to support TWU local 100 as they battle with a greedy MTA.

Everyhwere we go..... The people want to know... Who we are...... So we tell them..... We are the union... The Mighty Mighty Union... The People's Union...

Yes, it was a cold day in New York. It's funny how the temperature seems colder in Manhattan than it does up by me in Westchester County, but regardless the duty of being a progressive beckoned and I would not stray from the cause. I am more radicalized each day by the assaults on the people that I hear of and witness.

From New Orleans and the way Katrina, FEMA, and the US government hit. To the Iraq war and the thousands of workers losing their jobs to offshoring and outsourcing, you can either get very angry or very depressed. However maybe you are one of the people who are shielded from reality thanks to your wealth. Wealth which was most likely made off the sweat and suffering of others. You could be a CEO or board member who is basically way too overpaid. Even those of you benefiting from the dividend checks do that from the work of others who are most likely suffering at the hands of profit maximization. They suffer from low wages, no healthcare, no pension, and dangerous workplace conditions. Then if you really want more profit and bang for your dividend check the executives just close a few plants and offshore jobs and layoff workers. You could have also inherited your wealth, which the repeal of the estate tax was the greatest thing to happen for you.

I'm a progessive who has always been angry with the way things are, but it only makes me want to work harder. That's why as a progressive I cannot support Senator Hillary Clinton a corpratist when a progressive like Jonathan Tasini has decided to challenge the corpratism and imperialism of our government. I also cannot stand and watch as millions of workers are suffering at the hands of corpratist and elite executives who are only out for themselves and profit maximization.

So here I was leafleting for Tasini on 42nd and Lexington in front of the Grant Hyatt hotel as the TWU Local 100 gathered to rally against the injustice of another New York public authority that needs to be reigned in. That public authority is the Metorpolitan Transit Authority. A public authority who is guilty of corruption and mismanagment. Three years ago they had the money to give the transit workers what they deserved but they lied and moved money around to make it look like it was not there. They used allot of what you would call creative accounting. Then when their was finally a settlement it resulted in the MTA raising the fares which was uncalled for, especially since we all now know that they have a budget surplus of one billion dollars.

What TWU Local 100 is asking for is not outrageous and with the billion dollar surplus of the MTA, the workers should get what is rightfully theirs, which is the eight percent raise for theree years that they seek. The workers deserve more than the paltry raise being offered by the MTA. On top of that the MTA wants the union to giveback things like sick days. The MTA wants to move the retirement age from 55 to 62. They are also asking for higher co-payments for prescription drugs and office visits. Also with this proposal new employees would have to contribute two percent toward health care premiums. The MTA also wants to remove conductors from some trains and turn them into customer service roles.

So as we gathered there for a rally in the cold though we were all freezing I was proud to be helping fight for a good cause. When I first arrived on the scene I was surprised to see a gated off protest area. This reminds me of a George W. Bush speaking event where they have protest pens for people. I felt that it was wrong but the workers were still able to overcome that and come out in force. The chants started with your "TWU Local 100 make some noise!" and continued with "when they say giveback, we say fightback!". As I started to look around I could see the people sitting in their comfortable lounges in the Grand Hyatt looking down on us or watching a flat screen TV without a care in the world. I also saw two helicopters above us hovering to keep an eye on us as if we were the threat. The real threat were the MTA managment inside the Grand Hyatt who are trying to steal from 34,000 people.

Then the speakers started to come out and talk. Congressman Anthony Weiner showed his support for TWU local 100 and said a few words as did NYC comptroller William Thompson. This would not be a day to find the mayor anywhere near this gathering as he went to court to get an injunction along with the NY attorney general's office, unfortunatley. I also heard the union's secretary-treasurer Ed Watt speak, he was actually pretty good as a speaker and led some chants. Next up, was Brian McLaughlin, president of the New York City Central Labor Council who has started a solidarity fund where $1 dollar from every unionized worker in the city would go into that fund to help pay for the massive fines and loss of pay to the transit workers resulting from a strike that would be illegal under the Taylor law.

I saw a SEIU local union present showing solidarity along with the president of the teachers union who said a few words. Then came the Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. They were both great speakers as usual and I think it was good that they came out to show support. I heard Jesse's trademark "keep hope alive" along with Al Sharpton putting Pataki to shame when he said that Pataki did not care enough to be in NYC, instead he's running around trying to run for president.

To close the rally it was left to the TWU Local 100's president Roger Toussaint. I did not realize until I heard him speak that like my parents he comes from Trinidad. He started out talking about the funeral he will be attending tommorow for a transit worker. And he brought up another incident which shows the brutal mentality the MTA has towards it's workers.

Lewis Moore, whom a co-worker found unconscious on a work train in the Bronx last week, could have been taken to a nearby station to the south, Toussaint said. But that maneuver, from the middle track, would have clogged subway traffic - so the train was driven seven stations to the north, Toussaint charged.

"They put service before a stricken Transit Authority worker and they wouldn't have done that to a dog," Toussaint said. "If it was a dog on the tracks, they would have stopped service ... and spent whatever time was necessary to retrieve the dog."

Moore was dead by the time the train, which carries a huge crane, arrived at the E. 180th St. station. An initial autopsy was inconclusive. It's unclear, Toussaint said, whether Moore could have been saved.

You could hear the loud shouts of dissaproval from the union members as Toussaint talked about the injustice. But as he too led the famous mighty, mighty union chant he made it clear that it was a mistake for the MTA to test the union. After he spoke the rally came to a close with a Toussaint saying "Maestro cut to the music" and then Bob Marley reminded us to "Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights".

On my way home to Westchester County on the Metro North Railroad, I saw that there were these notices placed on all the seats for the passengers to read. They said that the railroad had a contingency plan for the NYC transit strike. Actually what they made clear was that while the strike was illegal in New York but that it could happen anyway. I found it disgusting that they are tring to pit the passengers against the transit workers. So what did I do? Well, I took my notice underlined "illegal" and wrote "It's the MTA's fault," "Give the workers what they deserve". As I left the train I left that notice on my seat along with a rally sign I had taken with me that said " no more hugs for Kalikow" "give the workes 8, 8, 8%".

It funny you wrote this huge piece about the possible MTA stike, but you don't even use the subway to get around.

yea, and?

Dec 14, 2005 03:11AM EST

nacho

to the house slave above: whose side are you on? yes, it sucks if they go on strike, it's an "inconvenience." but unless you're some middle-class business owner or white wall-street type or a CEO, the MTA workers are fighting for you. by standing up for themselves against greed and against their employer, their fight is our fight.

so whose side are you on? with your brothers and sisters or with the media and bosses who tell you how "inconvenient" the strike is and hide form you the fact that you too are a worker, and we're all on the same side?

of course, if not you're not a working class person, then get the fuck off the subway and go fuck yourself. you could aford to take a cab, so why you complaining?

What does it matter...

Dec 14, 2005 11:04AM EST

calfop

It doesn't matter whether or not he actually rides the subway. Sure, a strike would not directly effect him as it might you are I, but working people should always be concerned with the struggles of other working people. A victory for the transit workers helps open doors for other labor actions.

omg passenger

Dec 14, 2005 11:31AM EST

please

"yeah soooo I do not live in Latin America so I guess I can't support Chavez or the Bolivarian process."

Get a life

Let the TRUTH be known

Dec 14, 2005 05:15PM EST

Truth Brigade

Let’s be honest here, when was the last time you had something good to say about the MTA’s transit workers, on any level. I have some real horror stories that could potentially put everyone in the city in harms way and it’s this on going shitty attitude MTA workers have, just like other unionized workers do. It always this “you owe me” for the shitty job I’m doing attitude, that has this country in situation we’re in. Shut the hell up! Their luck they even have a job cause without the union supporting their sorry asses they’d be out on the streets begging for food, because no other employers would put up with it!

all y'all probably live in westchester or jersey

Dec 14, 2005 05:47PM EST

or long island.

the strike will be "inconvenient" for the bosses -- it'll be a hell of a lot worse for ordinary working people trying to get to their damn jobs. not everyone can afford to sit out of work while the strike goes on. the workers have valid demands, but you're an idiot if you think it's only rich people who'll suffer from the strike. ask the working families who can't afford childcare for umpteen days and have to get their kids to school and then themselves to work. ask the underpaid teachers and even less paid aides and security guards who'll still have to get to the chaos of the schools. ask anyone with any sense.

I support workers with reasonable demands

Dec 14, 2005 06:37PM EST

Another subway rider

I'm a Brooklyn resident who relies on the subway. Although in general, I usually support unions, this strike seems quite selfish. The union will jeapordize the economic health of the city (including other wage earners relying on public transportation) in order to get an 8% per year salary increase.

8% per year is outrageous! If you were making $40k a year, in three years, this amounts to $50k. We're not talking about WalMart here, we're talking about a public service that we all pay for with our fares. How about we use that surplus to improve the system for all of us.

I'm sure there are real issues with MTA (like problems with bathroom breaks for bus drivers), but striking for an 8% pay increase isn't the solution here.

student worker

Dec 14, 2005 10:17PM EST

Coral

"you're an idiot if you think it's only rich people who'll suffer from the strike. ask the working families who can't afford childcare for umpteen days and have to get their kids to school and then themselves to work. ask the underpaid teachers and even less paid aides and security guards..."

What will hurt working people more? A few days of (admittedly very great) inconvenience ... or the continued downslide of unions and workers rights? Why don't you ask those underpaid teachers which would be worse ... walking to work for a week or losing their health benefits? Why don't you ask the security guard if he'd rather miss one day of work or lose his job all together due to cutbacks? It's time to stop letting the bosses pit worker against worker and realize that these transit workers aren't just fighting for their rights, but for the rights of working people accross the country. Why do people blame the workers for the impending strike when MTA could easily prevent it by agreeing to their demands? It is common practice to say that you are for strikes in general, but just not when it's REALLY inconvenient. What good are strikes if they aren't noticed ... if they don't inconvenience anybody? It's time that working people started realizing that we share common interests, and that we need to stick together. As a worker I support the NYC transit union!

what does that even mean? do you think about what you say before you say it, or do you just repeat what the media and bosses tell you?

"economic health of the city"?? what exactly is that?

do you think ordinary people's fucked-up situation comes from a bad "economic health of the city" or does it come from the fact that we surrender our rights for 8-12 hours a day to work for a shitty wage to make someone else (the owner/boss) rich while they pay us a tiny fraction of what we make for them?

Capitalism, Gramsci suggested, maintained control not just through violence and political and economic coercion, but also ideologically, through a hegemonic culture in which the values of the bourgeoisie became the 'common sense' values of all. Thus a consensus culture developed in which people in the working-class identified their own good with the good of the bourgeoisie, and helped to maintain the status quo rather than revolting.

Health Care and Pensions are the Real Issues

Dec 15, 2005 12:20AM EST

Strike Supporter

The really outrageous concessions the MTA is demanding from the workers concern health care and pensions. The MTA wants the workers to put 2% of their wages towards their health insurance. This is an issue we are all facing. Medicaid is on the chopping block, NYC's health coverage for low-income New Yorkers (HealthPlus, you've seen the ads on the train) has just instituted co-pays for prescription drugs and doctors visits for the first time, and Bush is proposing to scrap all tax-deductions for costs from employer-sponsored health care plans, which will reduce coverage for middle-class and working-class people. If the capitalists can force these costs onto the workers, we don't have a chance at reducing health costs. If other businesses are paying the price, then we might see some motion towards universal health coverage, and bringing down the influence of the health care and pharmaceutical industries.

The MTA also wants to reduce the workers pensions because the stock market is down, cutting into the pension fund. The stock market is down so the workers must pay. Let the capitalists take the hit for their crisis-ridden system, not the workers. This is an issue of basic social security. And it's an issue most of us face, as Social Security is threatened, and we are told to rely on 401K plans, if we have any retirement plan at all.

Not to mention they want the Transit Workers Union to sell out the next generation of workers, by locking them into a lower wage structure, which has already been imposed on other city unions. These are ominous develoments for all younger workers, and affect the job market overall.

The union should stress these universal issues to gather public support. The 8% per year demand strikes many as greedy, though I think it is just a negotiating tactic.

If the MTA does not make a reasonable offer on health care, pensions, wages and the next generation of workers, I would support a strike.

I just hope the union and the workers don't buckle under Bloomberg's arrogant threats. I'm ready to commute by foot over Queensbridge, and I hope the majority of New Yorkers will accept the necessary sacrifices, too, once they've considered the issues at stake.

Not convinced.

Dec 15, 2005 01:48AM EST

woe

Sure, I'm for workers' rights - I worked an $8/hr job myself and know the lousy conditions faced by workers - particularly in the service industry.

But the TWU position doesn't convince me - not approaching this position favoring either side, I still find little to convince me their right to a strike is legitimate.

Some gripes: -The pay hike the TWU demands translates to 24% in the course of 3 years. Does that sound like a reasonable demand? It sounds fairly outrageous to me. It allows a party making $40k in year 1 to end year 3 making a cozy $50k (approx.) by year 3. Anyone in teh private sector willing to make such a demand? Probably not, b/c the average worker has to show their work has improved to justify a raise, and b/c most employers would laugh such an employee out of their office (I would argue jsutifiably). -The pay hike would be justified if TWU workers are "underpaid" to begin with. Instead, a quick search found for instance, that a 1st year conductor starts off w/ approx. $50k per year. Compare that to a 1st year NYC cop who starts at $26k (w/ a raise to $32k in 6 months after training - but still). -Another gripe of the TWU is the MTA demand to contribute 2% towards health insurance. Man. Pay something towards health insurance! Is it just me, or does every middle-class worker in the private sector already do this? And is the TWU unique at all in its complaints about health care costs? Now an argumetn could be made that a strike is useful for bringing precisely these sorts of issues to the forefront - true, for unionized workers. Since most American workers are NOT unionized, I'm not sure it would do much more than provide a 5 min. stint on FOX. -Another TWU gripe - raising retirement age from 55 - 62. 55? 55?! Who in the private sector has ANy dreams about retiring at 55? Private sector workers will be lucky to retire in their 60s - and not comfortably at that.

The TWU may well get its demands - it has the resources to bring an entire city to halt in the dead of winter to achieve its ends. For the average working/middle-class New Yorker (who most likely will be hurt by the strike - loss in pay, transportation costs, childcare, etc.), nothing changes.

So much misguided frustration...

Dec 15, 2005 02:08PM EST

caflop

It's the MTA that is being selfish, not the workers. It seems like there is a lot of misguided frustration on this board. TWU Local 100 knows full well that a strike is a last resort because ordinary working people rely so heavily upon mass transit and it is ultimately our support that will allow them to make progress.

Their demands are more than reasonable. The problem is that most people don't belong to unions and have little sympathy for those in a better financial situation than themselves. $50k is NOT a lot of money, especially for a full-time workers with a family. And they fault for that money, it wasn't just handed to them.

Why not help build the labor movement? Try to convince other people in your sector that a union is important?

And, as if it means anything, I live in the Bronx and I will have a hard time getting to work myself. So let's not make asinine assumptions about how those who support the strikers must be rich or live with mommy and daddy in the suburbs. Besides, many parts of New Jersey, Long Island, and Westchester are certainly more working class than a lot of the city these days. So I don't understand the relevancy of making such a statement.

C'mon.

Dec 15, 2005 02:51PM EST

M

I hate the argument that since the private sector has to pay into health insurance then everyone else should. Stop and think about it. The real wages of workers are going down. There is a healtcare crisis. The cost of living goes up every year. The rich are getting obscenely rich. It's tactics like a strike that shows the power the workers have in their hands. Workers should all stand in solidarity with eachother. Fight the goddamn bosses, not your fellow workers. I would LOVE to see all public employees not show up to work and all cab drivers not pick anyone up. Send a strong message to NYC and the MTA, the workers run this city and we can shut it down.

You pretty much summed it up right there. The workers run the city, they run the state, and they run the country. Every single worker needs to stand in solidarity. The message must be sent otherwise workers will suffer at the hands of corporations and management forever. I personally feel the time is right for a new labor movement to come alive and I think this is the start.

To the House-Slaves on the Board

Dec 15, 2005 08:05PM EST

Susan

I would like to remind the House-Slaves on this board that the MTA raised our fares, not once, but TWICE in three years. And in all that time, they refused to open their books for an honest evaluation of expenditures.

I would also like to remind people that the MTA is an un-elected group of people appointed by governor Pataki, who refuses to admit that he has any oversight over them, so essentially they are no different than any unaccountable corporation like Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart. Except, of course, that they are ostensibly managing a crucially essential service that moves more people than most states in America have people altogether.

So, in short, the MTA are a bunch of lying assholes who are swimming in money, and Roger Toussaint and the workers he represents are fully aware of this. For those of you who can't get to work tomorrow because of a strike, then enjoy your day off. I'm sure your boss will understand, and if he doesn't, then he's not worth workin' for anyway.

GENERAL STRIKE

Dec 15, 2005 10:40PM EST

Guan Gong

I suppport the TWU, and a good general strike would go long way toward shaping this city up as a decent place to live for working people. Every worker should support the TWU if they go out.

too much..

Dec 16, 2005 10:26AM EST

j

as much as i want to support the TWU there are times, this being a perfect example, where unions tend to a bit overselous with their power. i'm not going to get into all the specifics being they were already mentioned plenty of times in the above posts but i do want to mention the one fact that has kept me undecided in this matter. the fact that ticket vendors, who lets be honest are nothing more than cashiers, start at a salary higher than what my sister is making now and she's a fourth year high school teacher in the bronx with a degree.

don't be a hater

Dec 16, 2005 03:44PM EST

lol

Then I guess your sister needs a better union.

Don't hate on workers who actually know how to fight for their rights.

MTA is not the TWU

Dec 16, 2005 05:19PM EST

rail gem

Truth Brigade - the MTA has nothing to do with tranist workers (TWU). They are 2 different things. The MTA is made up of very wealthy out-of-town white people who make 6 figure salaries, fleece the city, siphon uncounted dollars from the transit system and generally loot the treasury. They do not soil their soft hands with 'work' of running the trains. When you hear about embezzeling or crooked contracts that's the MTA. The 150 billion 'lost' money - that's the MTA.

The TWU are the actual workers who toil in the subway system, run the buses and do the repairs.

That's why you see transit supporters wearing buttons that say 'fire the MTA'.

8 percent

Dec 16, 2005 08:28PM EST

Worker

TWU may be asking for 8% but you see thats called negotiation. They don't expect to get 8% they realize 3-4 precent is likely.

As for those who think that asking for 8% is unreasonable. Well then that says alot about how much you value yourself at your job! Damn straight. I see private sector jobs with stagnating wages (except in union-jobs) and CEOs and bosses making fat profits, record gains in productivity, and workers are getting the shaft.

amazing all these code words being thrown around about what is ostensibly a majority-people-of-color, highly female workforce. racism is a huge part of people not supporting the TWU workers.

to the person complaining about the salary of the tollbooth person, do you really know what a day at work is like for a person in the subway tollbooths? do you really know what all their responsibilities are?

does anyone here know what it's like to work in the subways, or any other "unskilled" or supposed "low-skilled" job, for that matter?

walk in another person's shoes before you talk shit about them. i bet a lot of you wouldn't make it too long doing some of the jobs that TWU workers do.

work under capitalism is a demeaning, dehumanizing, mind-numbing arduous task that takes up most of our waking hours. we sell our labor and creativity and get chump change in return while private unaccountable tyrannies (your boss, the MTA, etc) make off with astronomical profits, all thanks to our sweat.

EVERY worker-- in return for this misery-- deserves a wage and benefits package that will AT LEAST assure for them and their families a decent and comfortable place to live, nutrition, heat, health, other basic necessities, and still have time to actually see each other and be human beings.

if capitalism cannot deliver this, then maybe it's time we fought for a better way to organize our lives.

SUPPORT THE TWU!

The IWW used to have a term...

Dec 17, 2005 01:52AM EST

nacho

the IWW used to have a term for you brainwashed house slaves talking shit about the workers... actually, they had several terms, but this was one of the nicer/cleanest ones: Mr. Block.

My indepdendent analysis

Dec 17, 2005 09:26AM EST

Sunny NYC

Hello This is my view on the whole strike. The TWU is threatening a strike for selfish reasons. Disclaimer: Usually I am sympathetic to people who are fighting against injustice.

1. Health costs. MTA is asking (((((new workers only)))) to start contributing 2% to their health costs. 2% of 50K = $100. I work in private sector, I am greatful my employer is paying 85% of my healthcare costs and I have no complaints paying my share. Asking a new MTA worker to fork a 100$ per year for his own health care doesnt sound too outrageous. I pay 15$ for my co-pay for verey doctor visit. Transit workers get the best possible health plan in the world- completely free. TWU argues based on rhetoric but not on facts.

2. Wage rise: I dont support any hike more than 4% a year. To begin with MTA workers have a high starting salary thanks to the union bullying the city every time a contract needs to be signed. They are asking for 24% over 3 years- shame on them. I dont get a 10% hike (my review is done every years) unless I am rated outperform. I do my job and exceed the expectations. Transit workers have nothing to worry about. They get a hike unilaterally whether they excel at what they do or not. I think its time for heardworking transit workers to get rewarded than then unions telling us how much should they get just doing their jobs.

If I was the mayor, I wouldnt think twice giving a hike to a cop/fire fighter risking his life to save people. Giving a hike to transit workers just because they are free to hold the city economy to ransom is not right.

3. Retirement age: Man! The average life expectancy has doubled this century. When you get social security at 60s and are fit at 55, whats wrong in expecting you to work unless you have health reasons.

I am flexibile on item 3, maybe make reteirement age for all workers (not just new) to 58 years. Now TWU will cry wolf becuase the lazy union needs to work extra 3 years. Start bending you ass folks- Look inside subway- there are people in 70s going to work. Start living a life.

I will support firing the TWU- tell them the 9% over 3 years is a great offer, either accept it or fire all the striking workers- there will be enough people applying for a 50K job that doesnt need you to be educated.

Sunny NYC

Dear Sunny NYC

Dec 17, 2005 10:47AM EST

frank zappatista

Maybe you need a better union at your job, then. Or are you too "educated" to need something as "working-class" as a union?

Just because you get screwed by your employer doesn't mean that workers that have actually FOUGHT for their rights should get screwed as well.

Oh, and I agree with the poster who talked about the racist code words on this thread. Usually I'm pretty annoyed at some of the blatant race baiting that goes on in this forum, but this time its important to call it because its there:

"whether they excel at what they do or not"

"lazy union"

"a 50K job that doesnt need you to be educated."

retirement age

Dec 17, 2005 11:56PM EST

nacho

"3. Retirement age: Man! The average life expectancy has doubled this century. When you get social security at 60s and are fit at 55, whats wrong in expecting you to work unless you have health reasons."

ummm...? gee, i don't know... maybe because you would rather spend your time being a human being than doing the same thing over and over for 8-12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week?

maybe spend time with family? pursue a hobby? enjoy life?

not to mention that it would make more jobs available for more people if people retire earlier, but then that might mess up the whole "reserve army of labor" thing capitalism depends on to suppress wages.

capitalism has got us so fucked in the mind we don't know how to think of ourselves other than as workers, so sadly a lot of people don't even know what to do with free time.

but keep on, the bosses need more profit, inequality needs to grow some more, there's plenty of CEO's out there who just love seeing the servants like you fight over who's the hardest worker.

Note that the management of MTA, the contractors who get billions every year from secret contracts, the accountants who keep two sets of books at MTA, the politicians (Pataki, Bloomberg, etc.) who appoint the MTA board and the corporate bigshots who run the MTA (e.g., Peter Kalikow) all practice class solidarity. One steals, another lies, another swears to it, and yet another beats up on workers to hide their malfeasance.

Working people need to understand two thing - first, if you don't own or manage the place you work, you are a worker and second, if you are w worker, every worker's battle is yours. Your boss understands this very well - why don't you?

Which side are you on?

Dec 20, 2005 01:06PM EST

pro-TWU

There is really one issue here, friends.

Are you with the billionaire and multimillionaire corporate elite who are turning this city and country into a two-tier society, or are you on the side of working people risking EVERYTHING to stand up for their-- and our rights. Like the old unions song goes, which side are you on?

life expectancy

Dec 20, 2005 01:59PM EST

john

Can anyone find some numbers on the life expectancy of an MTA worker? I'd guess that it is substantially less than average (what with conditions and all) but would like to find some data on this.

Want to side with workers but can't here

Dec 20, 2005 02:58PM EST

biked to work today

I agree with usually siding with the workers but by the posts on here, you'd think the TWU could do no wrong. This isn't the classic Marxist case of worker exploitation where hours and hours of workers' labor is turned into profits for owners, managers, and shareholders. Generally speaking, the trains are largely funded by government (funded by taxes) as well as fares (funded by riders). The workers are not generating capital for a bunch of fat cats (with the exception of a few MTA bureaucrats).

While public servants definitely need proper compensation, let's keep in mind these are not exploited workers of greedy capitalists. As public servants, the salary increase the TWU is asking for (although laborers in the union are already making well over the city average) is going to hit the people who in the end pay their salaries, tax payers and subway riders.

Yes, ALL workers need affordable health care! I am already paying over 10% of my income on health care and I do not understand how all of us laborers will win by paying the union's health care (which they contribute 0%!) via taxes and fares on top of our own absurd costs. Again, this isn't McDonalds or Walmart here which rakes in profits from the labor of its workers but a public utility that we all contribute to.

I can think outside the box here (go ahead and label me a house slave or some other 19th century terminology) but I just don't see this union fighting for anything but their own interests. Wouldn't a fare strike have effected the MTA in the same way without hurting all the people who depend on our public servants for transportation?

I'll stand on the side of the union, once they convince me they're standing on my side.

next stop, justice

Dec 20, 2005 03:46PM EST

r graves

solidarity!

Sunny- Learn some math

Dec 20, 2005 06:44PM EST

wild bill

2 percent of 50,000 is 1000 not 100.

Does that change your mind?

Support for the Strikers

Dec 20, 2005 06:44PM EST

Biking from BK

I just want to say that I support the Transit Strikers and everyone should be mad at the MTA. The workers are just trying to create a fair job for themselves.

Transit workers fight is our fight

Dec 20, 2005 08:28PM EST

Strike Supporter

An earlier post claims the strikers are not "exploited workers of greedy capitalists" and that the workers' health benefits are coming out of our pockets. The MTA may be a state run agency, but it has been increasingly underfunded, especially in comparison with LIRR and Metro North. To raise capital the MTA must then resort to bonds, creating profits for the capitalists. The MTA then bemoans "skyrocketing" costs that are really the direct result of policy choices. These manufactured structural deficits are an increasing trend in public companies that are being reorganized along the lines of the private sector.

Further, in the media's demonization of the transit workers struggle, the media and right-wing policy wonks consistently portray the transit workers' union's demands for pensions and health care as passe and anachronistic throwbacks to a bygone era. If the union is able to beat back this attack, it will be a tremendous moral and ideological victory for all workers, demonstrating our erosion in living standards is not some inevitable development, but a result of policy choices and our own lack of power. This can open the door to a broader struggle to secure health care and a decent retirement as universal rights. Roger Touissaint is right to characterize this struggle as part of a broader struggle for social justice.

Management tactics

Dec 20, 2005 09:06PM EST

Joy

I'm not happy about the strike; it's costing me forty bucks a day on a babysitter's salary. However, I feel that the MTA is more to blame. See, the part NO ONE is talking about is what happens when you create a two-tier situation in a large company. If the union allows those health benefits and pensions changes, it gives the MTA great incentive to LAY OFF the older "current" workers at a later day. The current workers are fighting not just for the future transit workers, but for their own pensions. A possible solution might be if the union agreed to have ALL tranist workers start paying the 1% into health benefits - with a decent raise of, say %5 a year, and then start staggering in paying into pensions - across the board - so that older workers wouldn't have to pay into them as long. The pay raises would be taken care of by the surplus, but the issue of future health benifits and pensions would also be addressed. The fact of the matter is, health and pension benefits are issues this country has to address and deal with. The model of a company being able to cover it completely doesn't work anymore - people are living longer, moving on to second careers...the whole system is in flux. Still, the MTA's history of dishonesty about funds, and unwillingness to acknowledge the workers grievences as having any validity makes them, in my eyes, far more the ones playing the bad guys.

Fight for Middle Class

Dec 21, 2005 10:16AM EST

Deb

Someone wrote unless you are a business owner or an executive the fight belongs to all of us. I agree.

I work for an accountant and see what everyone makes - workers, executives and business owners. The business owners make a lot of money, mostly because they hide the cash from the IRS or deduct it, such as auto, credit card payements, some even deduct their country club memberships. If the IRS catches them they are sunk but almost everyone takes this risk.

The executives make a boat load of money, try above $200K and that is before other benefits.

So if a union worker, who makes $50K AT TOP PAY, wants a raise without giving anything back, such as health benefits, I do not think that is asking much.

&quot;Want to side with workers but can't here&quot;

Dec 21, 2005 11:51AM EST

Scabbie Free

The scab man has spoken.

Yo scab man, they interviewed Ed Kroch this morning concerning the strike. He was his usual obnoxious union busting self, but sounded a little bit crusty. Perhaps he is about due for yet another full tongue enema. Maybe you and your tongue should give him a call after you finish with Bloomberg's and Pataki's early winter hemorrhoid cleanings.

I am a healthcare worker and I can assure you that going on strike the way this short-sighted, greedy and arrogant union did is guaranteed to make it lose all support. How do I get to work? I hope for their own sake that they do not have a family member or loved one in hospital, depending on a worker who has to take mass transit to get to work to take care of them. The salary they get is fair. They want more, much more right now and yet at the same time seem to think that there's a magic money tree that will produce money for their pension years down the line. And as for working in a thankless job all day, let me assure you, healthcare workers do that and more and don't get coddled the way TWU local 100 workers do. Roger's latest chant is: "Respect" Well, he's not getting any from me while he's busy trying to screw every small working person in NY city. And comparing his breaking of the law to Rosa Parks' historic action, all I can is "Roger, I know Rosa Parks, and you ain't no Rosa Parks"

To Mikey and Georgie (an open missive)

Dec 21, 2005 04:51PM EST

Fighting For A Scab Free World

Face it fellas you fucked up and its costing your patrons big time.

The time has come now to fess up, take your punishment like men, retire to the toolshed (for the customary wupping) and resign. For the sake of the city and the region do it ASAP.

Thanks The People of the Greater NY/NJ/CT Metro Area.

Underpaid and Overworked

Dec 21, 2005 07:23PM EST

Poor MTA Worker

I'm just going to make sure that my children don't go to college to become a doctor or EMT. Just get a job with the MTO and you'll, after about three months or so, already be making more than many career paths can provide.

I HOPE EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU GET FIRED! I can't wait to hear those words. Hopefully they will come sooner than later. Ronald Regan had it right in the eighties when striking air traffic controllers were let go. It's only a matter of time before they do the same to you. You're all easily replaceable!

Everyone's underpaid and overworked. Just what do you think the benefits package should be? 100k a year and retirement after ten years of service. I don't think anyone would argue that if you could stiffarm the people of New York, you would try to get exactly that!

Yo Scabbie

Dec 21, 2005 08:53PM EST

Its Time to Clean Mike's Hemorrhoids

This isn't the 80's, Ronald Raygun is safely frying in hell, and Mike "the weasel" Boobberg is a gutless spineless sniggering boobie. If he wasn't this strike would never have happened.

He should resign now, for the good of New York.

is this article a spoof?

Dec 21, 2005 10:51PM EST

pissedoffnyer

As I leave my parents luxurious suburban home in Westchester, I feel the glow that comes from being a progressive and standing by the working man.

As my IPod plays protest songs, I stroll out of Grand Central and ignore the nannys, cleaning women that just walked 7 miles from Brooklyn because they can't afford to lose a days pay.

I listen intently as politicians who've taken tens of thousands of dollars from this corrupt union pledge their support.

You're a jerk.

Live Again from Scab Central

Dec 22, 2005 07:01AM EST

Working For a Scab Free World

"As I leave my parents luxurious suburban home in Westchester, I feel the glow that comes from being a progressive and standing by the working man.

As my IPod plays protest songs, I stroll out of Grand Central and ignore the nannys, cleaning women that just walked 7 miles from Brooklyn because they can't afford to lose a days pay.

I listen intently as politicians who've taken tens of thousands of dollars from this corrupt union pledge their support.

You're a jerk."

So tell us "Mike", or is it "Ron" this time, how were Boobberg's Hemorrhoids , tasty? No the posting was not a spoof, but you are. Don't you have a sewer to haunt or something?

I did not realize that my piece was still being read since so many others had now started writing about the strike. I saw this comment that asked if this article was a spoof. It is not a spoof. I do applaud the commenter's comedic attempt to paint me as a person from an elite family listening to protest songs on my Ipod.

I would say that before you criticize someone you would actually learn more about your subject. Just because i'm from Westchester County does not mean that there is not poverty and middle class struggles going on here. We have citites like Mount Vernon and Yonkers who desperatley need help with their schools and they need more affordable housing. We have towns and villages up county who have a growing immigrant population who need support. We also have problems with illegal immigration just like everywhere else. Sadly many of the communities up county may become victims of urban sprawl if they have not been already.

But what about me? Well, I grew up in the Bronx. I was born in the Bronx and lived there until I was 18. I am now 26 and have been living in Westchester since then. Growing up in the Bronx was no picnic for me, but i'm not going to play the "who's worst off game". But what I learned in the Bronx about poverty, the middle class, and the working poor still stays with me today. And truthfully i'm not doing all that great in Westchester either i'm still struggiling like many people here are as well.

Ms.

Feb 02, 2006 05:18AM EST

McKay

I am a proud union member who took the 2005 Strike seriously. What I am not proud of is that the Executive Board members are at war with each other. This is what the politicians want and you are falling right into their trap. As executive board members you should be able to hear each members comments, take them into consideration weather you agree with them or not. It is time you listen to each other and come up with a soulution. Each individual's idea is important. You do not have to like each other you just have to work together in pleasing your members. There are 34,600 + members out here who strongly beleave in you why not make us proud by going back to the negotiation table and bring us back some thing that we can appriciate. You did great at the table but what it all come down to is the money. Cost of living is very high and there is not way we can support our family on 3%, 4% & 3.5% over a period of three years and in the mean time giving back 1.5% for health care. We already have co-payment for doctors visit and prescriptions. What more? Its time MTA accepts us as very dedicated worker and put some money into our pockets.

(c) Independent Media Center. All content is free for reprint and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere,
for non-commercial use, unless otherwise noted by author. IMC not for content (expand this). more...